Three Pakistanis Killed After Hijacked Honour 25 Vessel Attack

Five crew members, including three Pakistanis, were killed after Puntland Security Force attacked the hijacked vessel Honour 25 in Somalia, according to accounts from crew members aboard the ship. Four other crew members were reported injured as the already tense hostage situation turned deadly off the Somali coast.

The Pakistani victims were identified as Second Officer Kashif Umar, Third Engineer Mahmood Ansari and Oiler Rafiullah Khan. An Indian crew member named Tanveer and the vessel's Myanmar chief engineer were also killed in the attack.

The Honour 25 is carrying Pakistani crew members along with Indian, Myanmar and Indonesian nationals. The latest account from the vessel indicates that 10 Pakistani crew members were on board, making the incident a serious concern for families in Pakistan and for authorities responsible for the safety of citizens working at sea.

The Indonesian captain confirmed the deaths of five crew members during a conversation with a representative of the Ansar Burney Trust. The ship's Second Engineer Hussain Yousuf separately said that four crew members had been injured in the attack.

The injured crew members were identified as Fourth Engineer Usman, Aqeel, Ameen and an Indonesian crew member. Yousuf said the ship's steering system had been damaged and that the vessel was being towed by another ship after the attack.

The situation aboard the vessel remains alarming. Yousuf said the bodies were lying in the sun and the injured crew members were still on the ship without medical assistance. He urged the authorities to arrange immediate helicopter support to transfer both the injured crew and the bodies.

He also said contact with the crew's families had been cut off. According to his account, the vessel was being taken to Vassaco and the journey could take around three days, leaving the surviving crew members in a highly vulnerable position without urgent evacuation or medical care.

The Honour 25 case has been under concern since April, when footage emerged showing Pakistani crew members being held in cramped and deteriorating conditions aboard the hijacked oil tanker off Somalia. The vessel was seized by armed pirates near the Somali coast on April 21, approximately 30 nautical miles offshore, with 17 crew members on board, including 11 Pakistanis and an Indonesian captain.